Refuse reducer

ABSTRACT

A refuse reducer, particularly for compactors, in which a plurality of blades displaced from each other angularly and spaced axially along a common shaft, are rotated through slotted passages within a stationary frame. Each of the blades have two elongated main parts assembled together with spring loading so as to tightly occupy the slots of the stationary frame. With rotation of the blades, shearing action is realized, for reducing the refuse, at the cutting edges on the slots of the stationary frame and the edges of the moving blade.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,832,574 4/1958 Hornberger.., 241/36 X 2,938.674 5/1960 Lee 241/36 X 3,458,141 7/1969 Lenz 241/36 3,463,406 8/1969 Musgrave.v 241/86 Primary Examiner-Granville Y, Custer, .Ir, Armrney-$parrow and Sparrow ABSTRACT: A refuse reducer, particularly for compactors, in which a plurality of blades displaced from each other angularly and spaced axially along a common shaft, are rotated through slotted passages within a stationary frame. Each of the blades have two elongated main parts assembled together with spring loading so as to tightly occupy the slots of the stationary frame. With rotation of the blades, shearing action is realized, for reducing the refuse, at the cutting edges on the slots of the stationary frame and the edges of the moving blade.

PATENTED uovso lsn Fl 6. 7 INVENTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the treatment and handling of refuse in densely populated areas, it is desirable to reduce larger chunks or elements of the refuse into smaller portions suitable for further treatment and/or passage into containers preparatory to removal and haulage. Thus, after ordinary refuse which has been obtained from apartment houses, for example, has been reduced to smaller elements as a result of cutting the larger chunks of the refuse, it is possible to treat the refuse chemically and/or process the refuse further through compacting and eventual discard. It should be also understood that by reducing refuse to small portions prior to removal, substantially less space is necessary for the storage of such refuse.

Whereas refuse-handling machinery is known in the art, such machinery is massive and high in cost, and does not lend itself readily towards the purpose of reducing the refuse to finely subdivided particles or elements. Furthermore, it is not practical to install the refuse-handling machinery in conventional use, into a small apartment house, for example, due to the high cost involved and the large amount of space required for the installation.

It is a desideratum of the present invention to produce a refuse reducer which is simplified in design and construction, which is economical, and occupies relatively small space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A refuse reducer in which a stationary frame is provided with a plurality of adjacently located elongated slots. A splined shaft is held in bearings within the stationary frame, and carries a plurality of cutting blade members spaced along the axis of the shaft. The cutting blade members are also angularly displaced from each other on the shaft. When the splined shaft is rotated within bearings, the blades are sequentially passed through their respective slots within the stationary frame. The blade members possess cutting edges which cooperate with the edges of the slots on the frames, so as to produce a shearing effect on any refuse dropped onto one side of the frame. As the blades are rotated, the refuse is cut and forced through the slots, and is thereby reduced into elements having predetermined maximum dimensions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a refuse reducer which is simple in design and construction, and occupies a substantially small amount of space.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a refuse reducer, ofthe aforementioned character, which is substantially low in cost and may be operated without skilled personnel.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a refuse reducer which is highly reliable in operation and has substantially low maintenance costs. Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages will clearly appear from the detailed description given below taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and illustrate merely by way of examples, an embodiment of the device ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience, but such names are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing, in which FIG. I is a plan view of an assembled refuse reducer, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the stationary frame of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view ofthe frame of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the driving shaft of the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an end view ofthe shaft of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a cutting blade member in the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side view ofthe blade member of FIG. 7;

F IG. 9 is a plan view of a cutting blade member mating with the member of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view of assembled adjacent cutting blade members of FIGS. 7-9; and

FIG. 11 is an electrical circuit diagram of a control circuit for operating the assembly of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawing and in particular to Fig. 1, a stationary frame member 10 is cast, machined or fabricated by other means to include elongated slots 12. These slots are spaced from each other-in a parallel relationship along the length of the frame. The frame member 10 is also bored to retain bushings 14 which form the bearings of a shaft I6 directed along the length of the frame member and passing through the slots. The shaft 16 is a splined member and serves to carry a plurality of blade assemblies 18 designed to fit snugly within the slots 12. The blade assemblies I8 are spaced axially along the longitudinal axis of the shaft 16 and are, at the same time, displaced from each other angularly. The angular displacement of the blade assemblies 18 is facilitated through the splined design of the shaft.

In particular, the blade assembly 18 consists of a cutting member 20 having a recessed portion 22 for receiving a mating cutting member 24. The two members 20 and 24 are slidable with respect to each other on the shaft 16 and within the slot 12. A spring 26 within the recessed portion 22 acts or abuts simultaneously on the internal walls of the members 20 and 24 so as to force them apart and against the sidewalls of the slots 12. Through the action of the spring 26, therefore, the blade assembly 18 is made to fill tightly the slot 12, when the elongated blade members 20 and 24 are aligned with their elongated or longitudinal axes with the longitudinal axes of the slots.

The shearing action resulting from the rotational motion of the blade assemblies, is realized through cutting edges 20a and 24a with the corresponding edges 10a and 10b respectively, along the sidewalls of the slots in the stationary frame I0.

The stationary frame member or housing 10 shown in detail in Fig. 3, has mounting holes 28 for securing the frame firmly to a base or foundation. The sidewalls 30 between slots 12, are all bored to admit the rotating shaft 16. Whereas the ends of the frame member contain bores 32 for retaining the bearing bushings for the shaft, the bores 34 through the sidewalls 30 are of the diameter whereby they form clearance openings for the rotating shaft. Accordingly, the bores 32 at the ends of the frame 10 form a two-point support for the shaft 16. As evident from Fig. 4, the frame member 10 may be formed or machined from a heavy plate by milling or cutting the slots 12 therethrough. Thus, the height dimension of the frame member 10 is substantially that of a heavy plate, as shown in Fig. 4. Altemately the frame member 10 can be fabricated from conventional steel bar stock by stocking pieces of appropriate length. This design permits the frame member to be produced at particularly low cost and efficiency. The end walls 10c of the slots 12, furthermore, may have imparted to them a curvature shown in detail in Fig. 4, for the purpose of matching or mating with the curved surfaces at the ends of the blade assemblies 18.

To facilitate mounting of the blade assemblies upon the shaft 16, the section of the shaft between the bearing portions 16a and 16b at the ends thereof, has a hexagonal cross section. The openings 34 within the sidewall of the frame member 10 are of sufficient diameter to clear the diagonal of the hexagon with cross section shown in Fig. 6. The hexagonal surface of the shaft serves as the spline for keying the blade assemblies to the shaft so that they rotate therewith. At the same time, the hexagonal surface of the shaft permits the blade assemblies 18 to be angularly displaced from each other about the shaft. Thus, any one blade assembly 18 may be angularly displaced by 60 from its adjacent or neighboring blade assembly. By staggering the blade assemblies angularly about the shaft axis, the cutting force available for any one blade assembly in increased, since the full force of torque available at the driving end of the shaft 16b is applied to only one blade assembly at a time, and is not distributed over the entire row of blade assemblies a condition which would occur if the blade assemblies were not staggered. Accordingly, should all the blade assemblies be angularly aligned along the length of the shaft 16, the applied torque to the shaft becomes uniformly distributed to all the individual blade assemblies and as a result, the torque available for each blade assembly becomes equal to the total applied torque divided by the number of blade assemblies, thus the use of staggered blade assemblies.

The portions 16a and 16b at the end of the shaft 116 are of circular cross section and ride within the bearings 14 retained within the bores 32 of the stationary frame 10. For the purpose of mechanically coupling the shaft 16 to a source of driving power such as a motor, the end of the shaft 16b has a flattened portion 160 to provide for such keying arrangement.

The blade member 20, shown in detail in Fig. 7, possesses curved end portions a terminating in hook-shaped portions 2012 which aid in forcing rolling type of elements such as bottles and cans through the slot 12 in the frame 10. Thus, when a bottle, for example, straddles the width of the slot l2, and the blade member 20 comes into contact with the bottle surface in its motions directed towards the slot, the circular-shaped exterior surface of the bottle will tend to roll along the slot and out of the path of the blade member 20. In the absence of the hook-shaped portions 20b, the bottle would then roll over the end 20a and hop on top of the blade member 20 as the latter passes through the slot 12. This condition is prevented through the presence of the hook-shaped portion 20b which prevents the bottles from rolling over the end of the blade member, by being caught within the hooked surface thereof. By being thus prevented from rolling to the top of the blade member 20, the bottle is henceforth forced through the slot 12, and is thereby reduced as required.

The combination of the curved surfaces 20a and 20b also provide for readily gripping or tearing of cartons, crates, bags, and prevent the ends of the walls within the slots 12 from having to perform any cutting action. The central portion of the member 20 is broached to form a hexagonal opening 200 for the admittance of the shaft 16. The central portion of the member has also a circular counterbore 20d to form a partial space for the springs 26. The member 24 of the blade assembly 18, shown in Fig. 9, has a corresponding counterbore 24c which communicates with a hexagonal broached opening 24b for accommodating the shaft 16. In lieu of or in addition to spring 26, a flat sheet of resilient rubber can be placed in the entire space between members 20 and 24 to act as further spring means. Such a measure will result in an equal pressure over the entire length of contact of members 20 and 24.

When mounted upon the common shaft 16, the blade assemblies 18 may be staggered in a manner so that two adjacent blade assemblies are related as shown in Fig. 10, in which they are angularly displaced from each other. The cutting edges of the blade members may also be serrated or possess sawtooth edges to facilitate the cutting process. Such serrated or sawtooth edges 40 may extend over the entire length of the cutting edges or along only portions thereof.

When the blade assembly 18 is mounted in place on the shaft 36 and the spring 26 forces the members 20 and 24 against the sidewall of the slot 12, a small space lBa prevails when the blade assembly is aligned with its longitudinal axis within the slot 12. This space 180 results from the simple design and construction of the blade assembly, in which the member 24 is made of particularly simple design. If the space 180 were to be entirely closed, the blade assembly 18 would have to be in more complex form. Since no advantage is gained by filling the space 180 through the presence of a portion on either the member 20 or 24, this space 18a is left vacant. Furthermore, to attempt filling the space 18a through a corresponding portion on the blade assembly 18, may only result in realizing a jamming edge on the assembly.

The novel arrangement of the blade assembly in which the spring 26 forces the members 20 and 24 against the internal sidewalls of the slot 12, also provides a self-cleaning action of the device, since no refuse can adhere to the cutting blades, as a result of the wiping action. Furthermore, no refuse can penetrate the recessed portion 22 of the assembly, in view of this wiping action and the condition that the members 20 and 24 are mated so as to provide a close fit between them in their slidable engagement.

For the purpose of controlling the operation of the refuse reducer, in accordance with the present invention, an electrical control circuit shown in Fig. ll is provided. The control circuit is energized with power applied to terminals 50 and 51 across which a photocell assembly 52 is connected. The latter is a photosensitive device mounted above the stationary frame of the refuse reducer and is located within the path of the refuse as it is dropped on top of the frame 10. When the level of refuse deposited on top of this stationary frame 10 of the refuse reducer has attained a predetermined magnitude, the photocell assembly 52 becomes actuated through the interruption of its light path, for example, and thereby closes a switch 54. This switch 54 becomes also momentarily closed whenever refuse passes briefly through the light path associated with the photocell assembly 52.

When the switch 54 is thus briefly closed as a result of the passage of refuse past the light path of the photocell assembly, a spray valve 56 becomes actuated for spraying the deposited refuse briefly with disinfectant. Whenever the switch 54 actuated by the photocell assembly 52 becomes closed, current is also passed through the coil of a time delay relay 58 which closes its contacts when the coil remains energized for approximately 5 seconds, for example.

Accordingly, when the stack of refuse above the stationary frame 10 has accumulated beyond the level at which the photocell assembly 52 is situated, the switch 54 will close and remain closed, and thereby cause the actuation of the time delay relay 58 after typically 5 seconds from the instant of its closure. During this S-Second interval, the spray valve 56 remains actuated and applies a longer duration spray of disinfectant to the accumulated refuse above the stationary frame 10 than when only briefly actuated.

After the expiration of the 5 seconds or the time delay associated with the relay 58, however, the circuit to the spray valve 56 is opened as a result of the opening of the switching contact 58a of the relay 58. Once this switching contact 58a is opened, spraying of disinfectant is discontinued.

A second switching contact 58b is associated with the time delay relay 58. This switching contact 58b closes when the relay 58 becomes actuated after the designated time delay, and thereby closes the circuit to the neon lamp designated operate." Thus, the time delay relay 58 is a two-pole relay with one pole being normally closed and the other pole normally opened. When the latter pole becomes closed, the neon lamp 60 is lighted. At the same time, the neon lamp 62 is extinguished, since it is connected in parallel with the switching contact 58b and becomes short-circuited when the latter is closed.

The lamp 62 is designated as a stand by lamp which lights whenever the refuse reducer, in accordance with present invention, is prepared to operated as soon as a predetermined quantity of refuse has been accumulated, as evidenced from the actuation of the photoassembly. Because it is a neon lamp it requires a very small amount of current to operate, and it derives this current through the low resistance of coil 60.

Once the switching contact 58b becomes closed and the lamp 62 is short circuited, full voltage is applied across the timer 64 as well as a relay 60 whose contact 6d energizes the motor 68 mechanically coupled with its shaft to the shaft 16 of the refuse reducer. The timer 64 is a conventional unit in which a motor shaft drives cams which, in turn, close electrical switches when the motor shaft has rotated through a predetermined angle or number of revolutions. The closure of the switches by the cams driven by the motor, produces signals which signify the expiration of a predetermined time interval as set by the cams in relation to the motor rotation. Such timing devices are well known in the art, and for this reason are not further described herein.

Once the timer 64 commences operating through the closure of the contact 58b, a cam driven by the timer motor 64 closes the switch 640. With this closure of the switch 64a, the timing motor 64 continues operating even when the switching contact 58b is again opened due to the stack of refuse dropping below the predetermined level at which the refuse is no longer within the light path of the photocell assembly 52.

The relay 60 is the motor relay for the driving motor 68, and remains energized for as long as the timer 64 is in operation. Consequently, the main drive motor 68 obtains power through contact 66 and continues operating for as long as the timer 64 is in operation. Once the timer ceases operating after the expiration of the time interval assigned to this unit, the switching contact 640 is reopened, and the relay 60 becomes substantially deenergized. At that instant, the switching contact 66 of the relay 60 becomes opened and disconnects the power to the motor 68. The relay switching contact 66 is closed when the relay 60 is energized for the purpose of rotating the motor 68.

in the inoperative state of the circuit in which the motor 68 is not operating and the timer 64 has not been actuated, a closed circuit prevails through the relay 60 and the timer 64 through the standby lamp 62. However, this lamp is a neon lamp and for this reason substantially all of the voltage drop will occur across this lamp, and only a minute voltage will appear across the relay 60 and timer 64. This minute voltage is insufficient to energize these elements 64 and 66 under these inoperative conditions.

In the event that the refuse reducer, in accordance with the present invention, experiences excessive loading through, for example, an incompressible object or one that cannot be sheared or cut, the overload circuit breaker 70 opens the circuit to the motor and causes the latter to cease operation. At the same time, the overload" neon lamp 72 is lighted to indicate to operating personnel that the refuse reducer has been overloaded. When the circuit breaker 70 is in its closed position in which it connects the motor 68 to the powerline, the lamp 72 is short-circuited by the circuit breaker, and hence is not in a lighted state.

In the event that jamming of the refuse reducer occurs for any reason whatsoever, the operator may actuate the momentary reversing switch 74, through which the motor 68 is reversed in its rotation. This switch 74 is of the momentary contact type and the operator is required to maintain this switch depressed for as long as reverse operation of the motor is desired for the purpose of clearing up the jamming condition, for example.

Whenever it is desired to operate the refuse reducer without waiting for a sufficient amount of refuse to accumulate to actuate the photocell assembly 52, the manually actuated switch 76 may be actuated by the operator. The closure of this switch 76 serves the same purpose as the closure of the switching contact 58b, since it is connected in parallel with this switching contact. Consequently by depressing the switch 76, the entire control circuit may be initiated to commence a cycle of operation. A fuse 78 connected in series with the powerline feed, protects the overall circuitry as well as the powerline.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a certain preferred example, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the principle of the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: 1. A refuse reducer comprising, in combination, a stationary frame member with a plurality of spaced 0 enings therethrough; a rotatable shaft supporte by sai frame member; a plurality of cutting blade members mounted on said shaft and spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis of said shaft, said blade members being spaced along said shaft in correspondence to the spacing of said openings in said stationary frame member; a source of power for rotating said shaft so that said blade members pass through said openings with rotation of said shaft, whereby refuse present on one side of said opening is forced through said opening through combined cutting and pushing action by said rotating blade members in passage through said openings.

2. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 1 wherein said openings within said stationary frame comprise elongated openings in substantially close proximity of each other.

3. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 2 wherein said cutting blade members comprise a first elongated member with an elongated recess; a second elongated member movable within said recess of first elongated member; and spring means between said first and said second elongated members urging said elongated members to move apart and against the walls of said elongated slots.

4. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 3 wherein the ends of said first elongated member are curved.

5. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 4 including hookshaped portions at the apexes of said first elongated member,

6. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 1 wherein said shaft has a splined surface for mounting said cutting blade members, said blade members having openings shaped corresponding to the contour of the spline on said shaft for seating said blade members on said shaft.

7. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 6 wherein said shaft has a hexagonal cross section extending along said splined surface of said shaft.

8. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 6 wherein said blade members are axially movable along said splined surface of said shaft.

9. A control circuit for controlling the operation of a refuse reducer comprising, in combination, a refuse reducer for processing refuse and dividing refuse into elements of predetermined maximum dimension so as to reduce the space occupied by said refuse; motor means for operating said refuse reducer through mechanical couplings therewith; actuating means for initiating operation of said motor means when a predetermined amount of refuse has been accumulated for processing by said refuse reducer; timing means connected to said motor means and said actuating means for timing the duration of operation of said motor means, said motor means being operated for a predetermined time interval after initiation by said actuating means; and motor protection means for discontinuing operation of said motor means when the load upon said motor means exceeds a predetermined magnitude.

[0. A control circuit as defined in claim 9 including disinfectant spray means for spraying disinfectant into said refuse prior to processing by said refuse reducer.

11. The control circuit as defined in claim 9 including relay means connected to said timer means and said motor means for maintaining said motor means connected to said power during said predetermined time interval for operation of said motor means.

12. The control circuit as defined in claim 9 including motor rotation reversing means connected to said motor means for reversing the rotation thereof.

13. The control circuit as defined in claim 9 including manual switching means connected to said timer means for initiating operation of said motor means for said predetermined time interval of said timer means and independent of said actuating means. 

1. A refuse reducer comprising, in combination, a stationary frame member with a plurality of spaced openings therethrough; a rotatable shaft supported by said frame member; a plurality of cutting blade members mounted on said shaft and spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis of said shaft, said blade members being spaced along said shaft in correspondence to the spacing of said openings in said stationary frame member; a source of power for rotating said shaft so that said blade members pass through said openings with rotation of said shaft, whereby refuse present on one side of said opening is forced through said opening through combined cutting and pushing action by said rotating blade members in passage through said openings.
 2. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 1 wherein said openings within said stationary frame comprise elongated openings in substantially close proximity of each other.
 3. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 2 wherein said cutting blade members comprise a first elongated member with an elongated recess; a second elongated member movable within said recess of first elongated member; and spring means between said first and said second elongated members urging said elongated members to move apart and against the walls of said elongated slots.
 4. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 3 wherein the ends of said first elongated member are curved.
 5. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 4 including hook-shaped portions at the apexes of said first elongated member.
 6. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 1 wherein said shaft has a splined surface for mounting said cutting blade members, said blade members having openings shaped corresponding to the contour of the spline on said shaft for seating said blade members on said shaft.
 7. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 6 wherein said shaft has a hexagonal cross section extending along said splined surface of said sHaft.
 8. The refuse reducer as defined in claim 6 wherein said blade members are axially movable along said splined surface of said shaft.
 9. A control circuit for controlling the operation of a refuse reducer comprising, in combination, a refuse reducer for processing refuse and dividing refuse into elements of predetermined maximum dimension so as to reduce the space occupied by said refuse; motor means for operating said refuse reducer through mechanical couplings therewith; actuating means for initiating operation of said motor means when a predetermined amount of refuse has been accumulated for processing by said refuse reducer; timing means connected to said motor means and said actuating means for timing the duration of operation of said motor means, said motor means being operated for a predetermined time interval after initiation by said actuating means; and motor protection means for discontinuing operation of said motor means when the load upon said motor means exceeds a predetermined magnitude.
 10. A control circuit as defined in claim 9 including disinfectant spray means for spraying disinfectant into said refuse prior to processing by said refuse reducer.
 11. The control circuit as defined in claim 9 including relay means connected to said timer means and said motor means for maintaining said motor means connected to said power during said predetermined time interval for operation of said motor means.
 12. The control circuit as defined in claim 9 including motor rotation reversing means connected to said motor means for reversing the rotation thereof.
 13. The control circuit as defined in claim 9 including manual switching means connected to said timer means for initiating operation of said motor means for said predetermined time interval of said timer means and independent of said actuating means. 